Form & Substance

Form is the face of things, while Substance is the real thing – the inner stuff.

Beneath the visible Form lies Substance. It’s easy for us to fall for the form because it doesn’t always reflect the substance in the short-term. In the long-term, yes the substance reveals itself to all but the blind-folded.

It’s like the tip of the iceberg showing above the ocean line while the huge bulk lies hidden beneath. That’s just why a long courtship is the best way to judge the substance. And a discerning eye.

While it takes a knack for separating the wheat from the chaff in the short-term, it takes a particular ostrich-headedness to be unable to do so in the long term.

Take for example, the face and the real human beneath. We fall for a beautiful face on sight. Much later do we see the lack of substance beneath.

Look at companies that pour their time and money on publicity and media glare because it is the most visible form of communication in the large companies. They fail to see the strong groundwork that accompanies such high levels of publicity – including the channel building, the roadshows and conferences, taking the time to meet customers and customer service itself.

Look at those who fall for a good word or a clever turn of phrase. Momentary pleasure, nothing more. It’s the depth of thought carried in the word that makes it memorable. The rest falls by the wayside.

Or as I saw in a recent TV show, a participant’s desire to become a rock star rather than a great musician.

It’s true that form gives the feel of perfection, of beauty and completeness to the substance. But, by itself it becomes meaningless. Its relevance comes out of the substance. To put it loosely, it becomes a reflection of a solid substance.

The face reflects the substance – watch the eyes and the lines on the face if you want to look inside.

Publicity is a reflection of your successful work not the other way round.

The perfect word reflects the depth of thought you try to convey.

The rock star is just the reflection, the musician is the substance.

When it comes to judging others, many of us make the mistake of falling for the form before we’ve had a chance to take a deep look at the substance. Plenty of times, we don’t allow ourselves to look at the substance.

Within ourselves, when we work on the form rather than the substance, we’ve made a habit of cultivating the superficials or worse still, we haven’t cultivated the depth needed to look into the substance.

The best of humans can make a mistake of judgement in the short term. In the long run, you just can’t miss it unless the truth is too bright for us to look at – because then we may have to revisit our own worth and ethic.